Part-Time Athletes

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Part-Time Athletes

Austerity measures stemming from the debt crisis in Greece has affected the country's ability to fund its Olympic athletes, according to The New York Times.

The newspaper said stipends were chronically late, training centers had closed and their coaches weren’t being paid — a surreal situation for the birthplace of the Olympics.

As in Greece, the governments of many other countries have financed the athletic careers of their Olympic competitors. However, one country whose government has never engaged in this practice is the United States.

American athletes are responsible for funding their own Olympic training. Some private companies have set up charities to support them, and organizations like the USA Track and Field Foundationtake donations to help fund training.

There are even enterprising individuals such as runner Nick Symmonds, who sold space on his left shoulderto an advertising agency in Wisconsin. But more often than not, the athletes themselves have to get jobs like the rest of us, and somehow fit in hours of grueling training around them.

What follows is a list of American athletes who have had to train and compete in a part-time capacity while they work jobs to fund those efforts and keep the bills paid.